Scorching Relationship
by Captainof10
Summary: Natsu had a secret he couldn't even tell Happy, 'cause everyone knew the cat had big mouth. A long Bonus included in Chap 1.
1. Finally, A Confession!

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, the chapter updates would be practically non-existent.**

**Scorching Relationship**

Natsu had two secrets.

The first was that his magic power could be greatly influenced by his emotions, though if those who knew him really thought about it, it would make sense.

The second was a secret he kept even from Happy, because even as his best friend, Happy had a big mouth.

The big secret: He was in love with Lucy Heartphilia, his partner.

He had once tried to confess, but when she showed up at the meeting spot, he chickened out and made up some crap about the possibility of a treasure hidden by the tree. He still didn't know why she slapped him.

His method of keeping his secret: be as inconsiderate possible without being a jerk. It was actually more brilliant than he thought. He was also pretty good at it. Not even Mirajane had caught on to his feelings. At least, he didn't think so.

However, it had been over a year since she had joined Fairy Tail and his pent up emotions were driving him crazy! So, he resolved to confess to her on Valentine's Day, which was only two days away.

* * *

That's what he thought two days ago, when he had bought the assorted flowers and heart-shaped box of chocolate that he was currently holding behind his back as he stood in front of her apartment. When she saw those, there would be no backing down.

Now that he had decided to stop hiding his feelings, he wasn't too far off from having a nervous breakdown. He was blushing and he was hot under the collar, in a much more uncomfortable way than usual.

He finally raised his hand to the door and knocked three times. He waited a few moments and heard silence. His nervousness increased. There was no way she could be away from home when he finally decided to tell her his feelings! He knocked five more times, a little louder and heard a faint, "Alright, alright, I'm comin'."

His heartbeat quickened as he heard small footsteps becoming louder and closer. At last, the door opened and Natsu's breath caught.

"Whadda ya want?" asked Lucy tiredly while rubbing her eyes with the hand that hadn't opened the door. She hadn't even checked who it was yet.

He took that moment to take her in. She obviously just got out of bed. She was still in her sleep clothes, a white T-shirt that was too big for her and pink comfy shorts. Also, her hair was messy, but Natsu thought she looked just as beautiful as ever, if not cuter.

When Lucy opened her eyes and saw who it was, her tiredness disappeared, her eyes widened, and she froze in utter surprise.

"N-Natsu?" she asked in shocked confusion, "D-Did you really just…just kn-kn-_knock_?"

It was now or never. Natsu mustered up his courage and brought the gifts out from behind him and held them out to her.

"H-Happy Birthday!"

She unfroze, but she was still shocked, and stood there, looking at the presents, blinking and looking back at him in puzzlement. Natsu flushed when he realized his mistake.

"Er…I mean…Valentine's Day! Happy Valentine's Day!" he corrected nervously.

Lucy finally regained her ability to speak.

"W-What are these for?"

Natsu blushed more. He had hoped she wouldn't make him say it outright.

"Isn't it obvious? I-I lo-…I love you."

Lucy's eyes couldn't widen anymore, so she just blinked.

"R-Really?" He nodded. She paused. "How long?

Natsu tensed even more. He wished she would at least take the gifts. He was beginning to feel ridiculous.

"A little over a year…" he said shyly, looking at the ground.

Lucy's jaw dropped.

"What? But that's-!" she exclaimed before stopping mid-sentence.

Natsu looked at her curiously.

"'But that's' what?"

Lucy realized what she almost said and her surprise was replaced with embarrassment. She looked around randomly and nervously fiddled with some strands of her hair as she flushed and smiled a little.

"E-Even longer than I've been in love with you."

Without warning, the flowers in Natsu's hand instantly burst into flame before going out just as suddenly. Natsu and Lucy stared at the charred remains before a breeze came and caused them to crumble into a pile of ash at their feet.

Natsu lost the remaining composure he had.

"I-I'm sorry! It was an accident! Seriously! This isn't a joke or anything!" he blurted out while waving his arms around in panic. His blush had disappeared. Then he remembered the other present he brought and held out the heart-shaped box to her. "Here! You can still have this!"

Lucy looked at the box before smiling brightly and letting out a laugh.

"Natsu, you may want to check the box."

Natsu looked down to find a thin, brown stream of liquid chocolate leaking out of the box.

"Gah! Dammit!" shouted Natsu in frustration as he cleanly threw the box into a slightly far away local trashcan.

Lucy burst into laughter. Natsu blushed all over again.

"It's not funny," stated Natsu with a pout. Lucy calmed herself down before giving him a tight hug and kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, but don't worry about it. You've already given me the best Valentine's Day ever."

Natsu's face finally broke into his famous smile as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his forehead against hers, and for a while they just stayed that way enjoying each other's presence. After a while, Lucy's body remembered how tired it was and she ached to rest.

"Natsu, I'm still tired. Can we go inside and lie down for a while?"

"Sure, whatever you want, but can we go on a date later?"

Lucy beamed in delight.

"I thought you'd never ask."

"Woohoo!"

With that exclamation, Natsu quickly scooped Lucy up in his arms, causing her to let out a small "Ah!" in surprise and blush. He went inside, kicked the door shut behind them, and carried her to her room. He set her down on her bed and leapt to the other side, plopping down and putting his arms behind his head to relax. He let out a content sigh and Lucy giggled at him before getting under the covers. She set her head down on her pillow and turned to look at her new boyfriend. (She mentally squealed in joy as the word went through her mind)

"See you later, Natsu," she whispered as she let her eyes close. Natsu looked back at her and grinned.

"Sleep tight, Luce," he said softly. With that, he watched her as she slept with content until he eventually got tired and fell asleep too.

* * *

**BONUS**

"He _WHAT_?"

Lucy smiled as Gray and Erza looked at her as if she had grown three heads of multiple colors. Mira just smiled knowingly while she prepared drinks behind the counter and listened.

"Yup. He confessed. With gifts and everything."

"You sure it wasn't a dream?" asked Erza, her eyes still wide as saucers.

"If it had been a dream, I would've woken up before he kissed me," she replied with a blush and smile, and leaning against the bar counter they were sitting at, remembering their date.

Gray, who had been chugging a mug of beer to drown the thought of Natsu getting a girlfriend before him, choked on said beer and fell backwards off his stool. Erza smiled with amusement.

"Who knew he had it in him?" she asked rhetorically.

The guild doors suddenly opened to reveal the dragon slayer in question, with Happy flying close behind. He spotted Lucy waving at him and made his way to the bar with a bright smile. He opened his mouth to greet his girlfriend but was rudely interrupted.

"Natsu, ya boil-brained moron!"

The group of four turned to look at Gray. His face was flushed drunkenly and he was unsteadily pointing at Natsu with one hand and holding onto the handle of a large, empty beer mug with the other. Eleven identical mugs were in front of him on the counter, also empty. Lucy leaned close to Erza to speak to her.

"Wasn't he just choking on his first glass a second ago?" she whispered while staring wide-eyed at her wobbly friend.

"Yeah," replied Erza, also staring, "At this point, I think he may have surpassed even Cana."

Natsu frowned at Gray.

"What do you want, Gray?" he asked, "Can't you see I'm in a good mood right now?"

"Why dinya tell me dat you was in love wit Lucy?" he shouted, ignoring the question, "If I'da known dat ya wern' as dumb at romance as I tot, I'da been motorvated ta confess ta Juvia sooner!" He redirected his pointing finger to point at the pillar that the said blue-haired beauty was hiding behind. Juvia jumped at the revelation that he apparently knew she was there all along and blushed deeply at the indirect confession.

Happy flew over in between Erza and Lucy and whispered, "Is he aware that he's got the attention of the entire guild?"

Both girls shrugged.

Natsu gave Gray a weird look.

"Of all people, why would I have told you?"

"Shaddup! I'm not sober 'nuff ta deal wit yer logic!"

"Whatever. You should've confessed forever ago. She only has the biggest crush on you."

All eyes shifted from Gray to Natsu, staring in utter disbelief.

"What?" he asked uncomfortably, "It's only as obvious as Gazille staring at Levy's butt every time she walks by." Levy blushed a deep crimson that contrasted with her hair and flipped her head to look at Gazille, only to find him looking at her with a mischievous and almost evil grin. Happy clung tightly to Lucy's arm, shivering.

"Lucy, I'm scared! He's never been this perceptive before!"

"Hey! I heard that!"

Gray blinked and ignored everything after Natsu said to him.

"Yer pullin' mah leg arncha?"

"Why do you think she hides behind pillars and stares at you?"

"In't she juz shy?"

"Seriously. She completely has the hots for you."

Gray paused to think for a moment before turning to look at the water mage, causing her to flinch in anxiety. Suddenly, he stood up and walked towards her, only stopping when his face was an inch from hers. Juvia felt like she would literally melt into a puddle under his scrutinizing stare.

"Zat true?" slurred Gray.

"Y-Yes, Gray-_sama_," she replied proudly and embarrassedly at the same time, her previous blush still present. Gray smirked.

"Then I guess I'll juz hafta cool ya off, huh?"

Before she could answer, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in the direction of the door.

"Gray-sama, w-where are we going?"

"Someplace private, I don' wan' dese guys watchin' us swappin' saliva."

Juvia's blush maxed out as she tried to stutter out coherent speech.

"B-B-But shouldn't Gray_-sama_ at least be fully c-c-clothed?" she managed to ask after glancing at his masculine, boxer-clad body.

"Nah. The entire town's seen me like dis at some point."

"Oh, by da way," Gray continued as he opened the door and lead her out, "When I make ya moan my name, could ya drop da –_sama_?"

With that, the door shut behind them, leaving the entire guild bewildered. When the silence was broken, it was by Natsu.

"Does everyone really think I'm that oblivious?" He received a guild full of nods in unison. He sighed and moved to sit down next to Lucy before ordering a fire whiskey.

"That was crazy," said Cana, changing the subject, "It was as if the glaciers were vaporized at the same time that hell froze over."

"Lucy, what's Cana talking about?" asked Happy.

"I'm pretty sure she just made a pun about Natsu and Gray's magic that also referred to their surprising behavior."

The group heard a heavy 'hmph' and they looked at Erza.

"Gray had better not take it too far with Juvia on the first day."

Lucy laughed.

"I'm sure if it got that far that Juvia would definitely faint."

"True."

"Hey," they heard Droy call out to the guild, "Has anyone seen Levy?"

"I saw her sneaking out the back with Gazille," said Wendy.

Lucy's eyes widened.

"Whoa. I totally didn't see that coming."

"See!" shouted Natsu to the guild, "I'm even more perceptive than Lucy!"

"If you're so perceptive, why couldn't you tell I was in love with you?" Lucy asked scowling, but with a blush on her face.

"How in the world am I supposed to know what a weirdo's thinking?" he replied.

"I could say the same thing about you!"

The guild laughed as they watched what would be the couple's first lovers' quarrel. However, one white-haired barmaid was having conflicting emotions. Lisanna noticed her sister's distress.

"What's wrong, Mira-_nee_?"

"Don't get me wrong," Mirajane sobbed, "I'm happy for all of them. Actually I'm ecstatic. It's just that… I've been trying for _months_ to hook these people up and in one day, _Natsu_ of all people comes in, reveals a few embarrassing facts, and _**BAM!**_ Problem solved."

Mira sighed as she rested her head in her arms.

"I know I'm not a real matchmaker, but it's still a shattering blow to my pride, you know?"

Lisanna chuckled nervously as she looked back to the bickering pair.

* * *

**R&R Please! I need feedback!**


	2. Anniversary

**Disclaimer: Still applies from last chapter...**

**Scorching Relationship**

It was exactly one month since Natsu had confessed to Lucy. For their anniversary, they decided to do…

Nothing.

Well, nothing they had never done before. They did everyday things, like fishing, going to the park, even visiting the new magical arcade.

But the one thing that made this day special was that they were completely left alone. They had decided that they would spend the entire day together and with no one else. They expected Happy to be bummed when they told him, but he just smiled goofily and said, "You're _sooooo_ together," which they responded to in playful unison with, "So we've noticed."

Happy had told them not to worry, that he would hang out with Wendy, Charle, and Pantherlily (the black cat's master's one month anniversary was the same day, mind you).

Lucy had to admit when they got to Natsu's house late that night to rest from the arcade (magical games were naturally played with magic energy from the users; they had played for hours) that she couldn't imagine a time when she was more happy than she was now. She smiled as she walked into his home. It was still just as clean as she made it when she first visited. Or broke in, whichever. She had once asked him why he only now decided to keep it clean. She had never expected his answer to make her feel like she was floating through the clouds.

"_Well…it's never been so clean before that, so whenever I see it like that now, it reminds me of you."_

She smiled as she recalled how casually he admitted to thinking about her so often.

"Luce?"

She was brought back to the present by her boyfriend's voice. She turned to him and saw the concern in his eyes. She smiled.

"I'm fine, just remembering something."

"Really? That's good," he said as he walked up and kissed her softly as he wrapped his arms around her back. She in response wrapped hers around his neck. As Natsu pulled away, he remembered something.

"Luce, I want to try something, but I need you to stay calm, okay?"

"Okay…" she replied with a little hesitancy. She wondered what he meant, but she trusted he wouldn't do anything to upset or hurt her.

Natsu pulled her as close as he could and relaxed himself. Lucy saw small flames light up in spots on his body and got a little nervous, but she didn't move. The flames slowly grew to cover Natsu. When they reached Lucy, she gasped. The fire was in no way painful, but gave her warmth like the rest of Natsu's body. It spread until it covered every inch of her. She sighed blissfully as she stood there, completely wrapped in his magic, in _him_.

'_I'm not sure I could get used to this,'_ she thought hazily as her body was encased in his warmth.

"Where the world did you learn this?" she asked as she struggled to stay upright.

"Well, Macao once lectured me on how fire's attributes can be changed, so I experimented a bit."

"So, what do you think?" he asked as he locked eyes with her. There were emotions he couldn't quite grasp in her brown orbs that seemed to shine.

"I think you need to shut up and kiss me you damn magnificent mage," she replied softly.

Without waiting for a response, she pulled him into a passionate kiss. Natsu grinned against her lips.

'_That good, huh?' _he thought proudly.

He slowly rubbed her back as he pulled her closer to him to deepen the kiss. He pushed his way in with his tongue to dance with hers. Lucy's moan reverberated in his mouth.

'_Oh God… I never imagined this hothead could be so __**passionate**__.'_

Her thoughts threatened to leave her as she drowned in the comfort of his fire and the heat of his kiss. She unwrapped her hands from his neck and inserted them underneath his usual vest. Natsu jumped slightly in surprise, but she didn't take notice. She slowly ran her fingers over her chest. She tried to remember how each spot felt, but with her thoughts in such a blur, she found herself needing to take constant trips back and forth. This frustrated her and she began to move more desperately.

'_Whoa, when did she get so bold? It's __**really**__** hot**…'_

Suddenly, Lucy's mind cleared when she felt strong heat on her back. She quickly pushed Natsu away. He gave her a confused look. Lucy frantically pointed a finger at her back.

"M-my shirt's on fire!"

Taking action quickly, he rushed to help Lucy out of her shirt. When they were done, he threw it on the floor and proceeded to stomp on it until the flames went out. They paused a moment to see if the fire started up again before looking at each other. Upon doing so, the memory of their recent actions caught up with them, making them blush heavily and look away. Well, that was half of Natsu's reason. The other reason was that her pink bra was fully visible and _**DAMN**_ did it make her look hot when she wasn't angry. He heard her sigh.

"We almost made the entire day without something strange happening," she said. Natsu turned to look at her again and his blush multiplied when he saw that she wasn't making any moves to cover herself.

"Y-yeah, I guess we won't be trying that again," he said with an uncomfortable laugh. There was silence before Lucy spoke again.

"N-not necessarily," she said softly. Natsu looked at her in confusion and saw that her blush was covering most of her face and she was avoiding eye contact with him. "You just have to be more careful next time, right?"

Natsu smiled, his confidence restored by how much she had enjoyed it. He put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her gently backwards until they reached the wall.

"That's true."

He suddenly grabbed her arms and moved them above her head so he had both her wrists in one hand. Lucy gasped at his sudden aggressiveness.

"Or we can make sure you don't break my concentration again," he said with an impish grin.

"Wai- _mph!_" Natsu's lips interrupted Lucy before she could object and she groaned in annoyance.

'_Oh well. He **is** the __**only**__ person I'd want to be trapped by.'_

* * *

**Bonus**

Mira Jane sighed as she watched Gray and Juvia. Even after a month as a couple, Juvia still hadn't gotten over her blushing issue. In fact, in Mira's opinion she had almost definitely gotten _worse_. Well, of course it didn't help that Gray was almost always stripped in her presence. Mira was sure he was doing it on purpose. She sighed again as she rested her head on the bar and closed her eyes, glad that no one was ordering drinks for once.

"Is something the matter?" a voice said to her.

Mira opened her eyes and smiled softly at a concerned Fried. She absently wondered why she could never think of the perfect match for him. He was smart, powerful, and handsome to boot. She could think of many girls that could be a good match for him, but something was always missing.

"Mira? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Mira snapped back to attention.

"Ah, sorry Fried-_san_. I was just thinking about something."

"Oh. Well, is something wrong? You've been sighing a lot."

"You heard that, huh?"

"Mhm. All afternoon in fact."

"What? Y-You've been here that long?"

Fried smiled in amusement.

"What's on your mind?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure…" she answered as she looked back at Gray and Juvia. As she did so, she felt the strong feeling she had recently been having. "Actually, that's a lie. I know what it is."

Fried moved his seat closer to the counter to show he was listening.

"I'm jealous," said Mira, not looking away from the couple.

Fried looked in the direction Mira was and turned back to face her.

"Of Juvia?"

Mira laughed.

"Yes and no. I'm not really jealous of Juvia specifically."

Fried looked back at the couple and thought while he watched Gray whisper something in Juvia's ear, causing her to blush brightly before passing out on his lap.

'_That happens far too often to be an accident,'_ he thought. Then, something clicked.

"Oh, I get it. The matchmaker wants to be matched, hmm?"

Mira smiled and blushed lightly.

"Well, I used to spend so much time thinking about how to get them and our other famous couples together. After they hooked up, I didn't have anything to occupy my thoughts with."

"Hmm… then might I offer you a daunting challenge to think about?" said Fried with a smile.

Mira looked at him curiously.

"What would that be?"

"I'm warning you, it's a challenge that may test the very limits of your mind."

Mira giggled softly.

"Try me."

Fried smirked.

"I challenge you to come up with a match for Bixlow."

Mira snorted loudly in laughter before covering her mouth and nose as if trying to capture the sound before it escaped.

Fried stared for a moment before breaking into laughter.

Mira blushed a brighter shade of red than her dress and pouted cutely. She had tried so hard to keep anyone from finding out about that! She looked around to see if anyone else had heard, but oddly, no one seemed to notice.

"Please don't tell anyone about that… It's _sooo_ embarrassing," she pleaded quietly as he calmed down.

"Heh. Don't worry. I promise I won't tell a soul," he said kindly before lowering his voice, "Besides, I kind of like knowing something about Mira that others don't."

Mira beamed brightly, the words some how making her emotions soar. The two continued to talk late into the night, laughing and subtly flirting with each other. By the time Mira looked at the rest of the guild, it was completely empty. She even noticed that the bar had been cleaned up for her.

"Oh my goodness! I can't believe how late it is! How could everyone leave without even saying goodbye?"

"Er… I don't know…" replied Fried as he released the magic in the runes he placed earlier to hide their presence from others and prevent interruptions, "I guess I'll walk you to the dorm."

"Oh? Does Fried-_san_ think I need protecting?" asked Mira playfully.

"O-of course not, but I'm worried you might get gloomy like earlier," he replied nervously, "B-besides, it doesn't feel right when you aren't smiling."

Mira flushed brightly and smiled.

"Well, I can't really turn you down after you said something as sweet as that, now can I?"

Fried smiled and opened the door to the entrance for her. It had been the first heat wave of the year, and even though the snow hadn't quite melted away completely, the air was only slightly cool in the late night. They walked in peaceful silence, and it felt like they arrived at the dorm far too quickly. As they reached the entrance, Mira turned to Fried.

"Thank you for cheering me up, Fried-_san_."

"I'm glad I could help," he said with a small smile, "Well, until next time."

Mira nodded happily and got lost in her thoughts as she watched him turn to leave. She tried to remember the last time she'd had so much fun. It must have been the party after they'd discovered that Lisanna was alive. However, that feeling had been…more of a joyous relief. This was different. Today left her feeling…light-headed and weightless. Something clicked in her mind and she ran after him before he got too far.

"Wait!"

She tried to kiss his cheek just as he turned, but she was a bit slow and ended up meeting his lips. They both stayed like that for a few stunned moments before Mira pulled away slowly. Mira had a mind to apologize until she realized it wouldn't be very convincing unless she stopped smiling like a fool, so she said the next thing that she could think of.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Fried-_kun_."

Fried blushed deeply and muttered a soft, "Y-yeah…"

With that, Mira turned and ran to the door, opening and closing it behind her in haste. After that she hurried to her room and to her bed, where she buried her face in her pillow just before she let out a high-pitched squeal of excitement. She then turned to lie on her back, smiling up at the ceiling. She then thought to the several conversations she had with Lucy about love.

'_This is what you feel whenever you're with Natsu, right, Lucy? There's nothing else that could explain this feeling. It _must_ be love.'_

Mira sighed, this time in contentment, as she drifted into a peaceful sleep, smile never fading for the rest of the night.

* * *

**I finally got over my procrastination before it hit 4 months... Oh well, hope you enjoyed it! To confirm that you did, just press the button below. Flames will be eaten by Natsu.**


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